Brands
V-Mart stitches up a strong Q4 finish as revenue jumps 17 per cent year-on-year
MUMBAI: V-Mart Retail Ltd wrapped up the fourth quarter of FY25 with a decent tailwind, reporting a 17 per cent year-on-year surge in total revenue, proving that affordable fashion can still cash in during uncertain times. The retailer’s revenue from operations touched Rs. 780 crore for the quarter ended 31 March 2025, up from Rs. 669 crore in Q4 of the previous year.
While V-Mart strutted forward with an 18 per cent growth rate, its digital acquisition, Limeroad, stumbled. The online marketplace saw a 47 per cent revenue drop for the quarter and a 42 per cent decline over the full fiscal year, raking in just Rs 8 crore in Q4. It contributed commission income based on Rs 23 crore in net merchandising value, but the numbers looked more couture crash than runway revival.
Same-store sales growth (SSSG) gave the company something to cheer about, clocking in at eight per cent for the quarter. V-Mart stores delivered seven per cent, while its southern counterpart Unlimited spun out 10 per cent. Annual SSSG stood at 11 per cent, with total yearly revenue (excluding Limeroad) jumping 18 per cent to Rs 3,213 crore from Rs 2,714 crore in FY24.
Store expansion was also on full throttle. In Q4 alone, V-Mart opened 13 new stores and shut down four, keeping the footprint fresh. The new outlets popped up in familiar heartlands like Uttar Pradesh (four), Bihar (two), and Jharkhand (two), while also tapping into fresh territory across West Bengal, Jammu and Kashmir, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu with one store each.
Year-to-date, the company has launched 62 new stores and closed nine, pushing the grand total to 497 stores across India as of 31 March 2025. Not bad for a retail chain navigating changing consumer moods and an increasingly digital economy.
For those tracking the numbers, keep in mind: all revenue figures remain provisional, pending review by statutory auditors.
Brands
Estée Lauder to shed 10,000 jobs as new boss bets on digital shift
The cosmetics giant raises its profit outlook but stays silent on a possible merger with Spain’s Puig, as job cuts deepen and a three-year sales slump weighs on the turnaround
NEW YORK: Stéphane de La Faverie is not done cutting. Estée Lauder announced on Friday that it plans to eliminate as many as 3,000 additional jobs, taking its total redundancy programme to as many as 10,000 roles, up from a previous target of 7,000 announced a year ago. The company, which owns La Mer, The Ordinary, Tom Ford, and Aveda, employs roughly 57,000 people worldwide. The mathematics of what is now being contemplated is stark.
The fresh round of cuts is expected to generate a further $200 million in savings, bringing the total annual savings from the programme to as much as $1.2 billion before taxes. That money, De La Faverie has made clear, will be ploughed back into the turnaround.
A CEO in a hurry
De La Faverie, who took the helm in January 2025, inherited a company that had endured three consecutive years of annual sales declines. His response has been to move fast and cut deep. A significant portion of the latest redundancies reflects his push to reduce headcount at US department stores, long a cornerstone of Estée Lauder’s distribution model but now a channel in structural decline. In their place, he is accelerating the shift toward faster-growing online platforms, including Amazon.com and TikTok Shop, a pivot that is reshaping not just where Estée Lauder sells but how it thinks about its customers.
The numbers are moving in the right direction
Despite the pain, there are signs the medicine is working. Estée Lauder raised its profit outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year, guiding for adjusted earnings per share in the range of $2.35 to $2.45, above analyst estimates and a notable step up from the $2.05 to $2.25 range it had guided for in February. Organic net sales growth is expected to come in at 3 per cent, the company said, at the high end of the range it set out in February.
The share price tells a mixed story. After De La Faverie took charge, the stock surged nearly 60 per cent, buoyed by investor optimism that a longtime company insider could finally arrest the decline. But 2026 has been rougher: the shares have fallen 27 per cent this year, weighed down by disappointing February results and the overhang of unresolved merger talks with Spanish beauty giant Puig Brands SA. The company gave no additional details about those discussions on Friday, leaving the market to guess.
Silence on Puig
The proposed tie-up with Puig remains the most consequential unknown hanging over Estée Lauder. A deal with the Barcelona-based group, which owns brands including Carolina Herrera and Rabanne, would reshape the global luxury beauty landscape. But with nothing new to say and a turnaround still very much in progress, De La Faverie is asking investors to trust the process.
Three years of sales declines, 10,000 job cuts, and a merger that may or may not happen. At Estée Lauder, the overhaul has barely started.
